Filter



Nov. 10, 1942. s, MALANOWSKI l 2,301,430 l FILTER Filed April 11, 1938 2 sheets-sheet 1 26 38 I7 2a A a2 24] 31u E5 Il Il i4 fo Etanl'e Nalmuwski F l Lf, fum H Nov. 10, 1942. 5 MALANQwsKl y 2,301,430

FILTER Filed April ll, 1938 2.` Shee's-Sheet 2 EtahlEI-[Nalanmwki APatented Nov. 10, 1942,

UNITED STATES PATENT .OFFICE FILTER Stanley Malanowski, Tampa, Fla. Application April 1l, 1938, Serial No. 201,278 14 Claims. (Cl. 2.10-184) This invention relates to iilter elements and has for its primary object to utilize the prop-v erties of an elastic spiral to provide a simple and efficient filtration unit for liquids under pressure. By using a closely wound helical spiral of elastic metallic wire held under tension with the coils uniformly separated by a gap of less width than the diameter of particles to Vbe restrained from passage, a tubular unit is provided which has ample' strength to resist the inward pressure of the liquid surrounding it. If the spiral aperture formed by the space separating the coils is sufficiently narrow, the unit will act as a iilter to permit the passage of liquid only and preventing the passage of solids in suspension. f

Such a unit formed with a relatively wide aperture may serve as a core or support upon which fibrous materials and filter aids may be temporarily supported bythe pressure of the liquid during the filtration process and by the mutual adhesion of the particles of filtered material. The nature of the adhesion between the metallic core and the iilter aid is such that when the pressure required to force the liquid through the accumulated mass becomes greater than is deemed economical, the operator can easily dislodge the sludge and the filter aid from the core to leave it ready for the next application of filter aid in preparation-for continued filtration.

A further object of the invention is to provide a form of construction in which the elements may be readily assembled in a compact group having a large capacity in proportion to its size.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact arrangement of parts or to in turn having interstices between them small enough to retain the smaller particles.

With these pulp filters, as with other types, it has been a common practice to use filter aids such as wood our, clays, diatomaceous earth, and charcoals as a preliminary deposit to close the interstices between the fibers suiiiciently to retain the finest particles to be removed. As the solid matter increases, if there are enough of the smaller particles to close the gaps between the larger particles, the area for the passage of liquid will be reduced to a degree such that the filter will become ineflicient. 'I'his clogging of the lter necessitates a renewal of the filtering material, as for example, by the removal and washing of the pulp before it can be replaced, or if such washing is not practical, by the provision of new material.

In many cases where such pulp is not satisfactory, various woven fabrics of textile fibers or of metallic wire have been used, frequently with cores or. supports oi. heavier lmaterial to withstand the pressure of the liquid, the mesh of such fabrics being made iine enough to hold the iilter aids. But these woven fabrics are also subject to clogging, and when their meshes have become closed bythe solids, they must be scraped and scrubbed to remove the accumulated sludge.

The spaces between the strands or filaments of a woven fabric are determined by the diameter or thickness of the finest strands whether of the warp or weft, but if the filaments or strands ran substantially parallel with each other without interwoven cross strands, it is evident that the space between the strands could be made the details of construction shown in the accompanying drawings.

Solids in suspension may be separated from liquids by the use of filters having the'passages for the liquids formed as apertures of smaller dimensions than those of the particles of solids to be held back. To operate efficiently, the filter L must have a total area ofpassages to permit the liquid to fiow through the filter under the pressure applied within the available time, and it must have sufficient rigidity to resist the pressure.

It has been a common practice to use fibrous pulps helcl upon metallic screens or upon perforated supports, the irregular spaces between the fine fibers of the pulp being small enough to retain the larger particles of the solids and these An elastic wire can be wound to form a cylindrical spiral orl helix whose rounds have the same diameter. A wire of circular cross section^ wound in a close helix will have the adjacent f surfaces in a line contact, this line of contact forming a non-plane curve,-the tangents to which bear equal inclinations to the axis of the cylinder formed by the helix. This is such a curve as is described by every point in a screw turned round in a fixed nut. Such a coil formed under tension will have the adjacent surfaces held in such close contact that force will be required to separate them and if such a coil is stretched longitudinally within its elastic limit, the coil will close again when released, the tension 'tending to force the surfaces into contact vthroughout their length.

A piece of homogeneous elastic material of uniform cross section will resist distortion equally at all points in its length. If a helical coil made of metallic wire of uniform section and of uniform composition is held firmly at one end and the other end is'pulled away longitudinally of the axis, the distortion produced will be equally distributed throughout the length of the spiral because of the uniformity of' cross section and because of the uniformity of elasticity in the homogeneous material.

As an illustration.. assume that the wire used for the spiral coil is .025 inch in diameter and that the coil is twenty-five inches in length. A wire of .025 inch diameter will make forty turns to each inch or one thousand turns in the twentyfive inches of its length. With the lower end fixed, if the upper end of the coil is moved upward one full inch, the distance between each turn and the next will be increased only .001 inch, and in the suspension means later to be described in which the adjustment is made by turning a nut on a bolt, the extension of the entire coil may be made a very small fraction of an inch, with an exceedingly small variation in the width of the helical aperture between the coils. A wire of .025 inch diameter formed as a helical coil with a length of twenty-five inches and a coil diameter of a quarter of an inch, provides a highly elastic element which offers very little resistance to sidewise pressure.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, to provide for a large capacity the assembly will comprise a plurality of l-tration units, each unit consisting of an elastic metallic wire of uniform section coiled in a helical spiral under tension with the elasticity of the metal tending to bring the adjacent surfaces along the helix into contact and having means to` support each helical tube under sufficient tension to separ-ate the coils to form a continuous spiral aperture throughout lthe length of each tube and each tube being in communication with a passage for the outlet of the filtered liquid.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section with parts broken away and parts in the background omitted, through a filter having a ltration unit embodying a preferred construction; Fig. 2 is a plan view looking downward from four different levels in the structure of Fig. 1 the upper portion at the left being seen looking downward from above the top 16 of the sheet metal container 11|, the lower left portion being seen looking downward from just below the top of the container, the lower right portion being seen looking downward from the level of the top of the manifold tubes 20, the wire coils being omitted, and the upper rig-ht portion being seen looking downward from just above the bottom of the container; Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic fragmentary section on an enlarged scale through one of the helical elements; Fig. 4 is an elevation and Fig. 5 a plan view of a different type of filtration unit embodying t'he helical elements of the same construction as those used in the embodiment in Fig. 1.

an outside place of delivery, which may be the same washing machine, thus providing a cyclic Y operation of removing dirty fluid, clarifying it,

and returning it immediately for continued use.,

In the present apparatus, the inlet pipe 2 leads to a filter ald chamber 3 which is connected to the tank l by a short pipe' 5. In the lower end of the tank I is an outlet pipe 9 for the claried liquid, having at its inner end a fitting 1 held ln a central position by the pipe 6 and by a brace pipe 8 secured to the wall of the tank I. Extending upward from the fitting 1 is a tube 9 having near its lower end a group of perforations I0. At a short distance down from the top of the tube 9 is a plug I I upon which normally rests'a ratchet element I2 which is freely slidable up and down in the tube 9 albove the plug. The plug is centrally perforated for a rod I3 having a T head Il resting upon the upper surface of the plug. The lower end of the rod I9 is mounted for rotation in a bushing I5 in the lower end of the fitting 1' and has two arms I6 extending ln opposite directions closely adjacent to the conical bottom of the tank 4.

Mounted for rotation on the tube 9 is a filter assembly which has a cap l1 secured within the upper end of a tube I8, the lower end of which has attached thereto a plate I9. This plate I9 has brazed, soldered, or welded thereto on its lowersurface, the inner ends of a plurality of radially extending tubes 2l), and a similar plate 2| secured to the tubes 20 on their under surfaces opposite the plate I9 and having a central opening for the tube 9, forms with the plate I9 a chamber surrounding the tube 9 to receive i11- tered liquid coming from the manifold tubes 29.

As shown in Fig. 2, 'these tubes 20 radiate outward from between the plates I9 and 2| at intervals of one-sixteenth of a circle, and their outer ends are closed and held rigidly in position by a hoop 22. The inner ends fit closely together .and any spaces between them and the plates are closed during the assembling operation.

Secured to a hub 23 and directly above each tube 20 is a supporting bar 2l, a hoop 25, similar to the hoop 22, being attached to each bar24 The construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 the clarified fluid either to the storage tank or to at its outer end. The hub 23 has a plurality of threaded openings for the reception of adjusting screws 26 carried by the cap I1. By rotating these screws, the hub 23 can be adjusted up or down, carrying with it the bars 24. Each manifold tube 20 has a plurality of spaced openings 21 to receive the lower ends of helical coils 28 which may be secured to the tubes 20 as shown in Fig. 4, by cotter pins eng-aged with loops on` the coils and passing through perforations 30 in the bottoms of the tubes. The outwardly ybent ends of the cotter pins will resist any upward pull and the perforations 30 will be closed by the bodies of the pins. The perforations 21 will be made of a size,only sulcient to admit the cylindrical helical coils. The upper ends'of the coils, as best shown in Fig. 11 are attached to the bars- 24 by hooks 3| and are closed by thi-n metallic plates 32 thrust between two adjacent turns and held by solder 33. Y

"I'he helical coils will be of the closely wound type and when they are adjusted in position within the tubes 20 and upon the bars 24, the cotter pins 29 and the hooks 3| can readily be secured to hold all of the coils tight and evenly drawn into position. As the screws 26 are turned to lift the hub 23, the bars 24 will move upwardly in unison and each elastic coil will be expanded by substantially the same amount. As has previously been suggested, since the expansion caused in the helix by pulling one end away from the other fixed end is distributed equally among all the turns, and since a lift of a whole inch at the upper end causes about a thousandth of an inch separation of the abutting surfaces of the coils, minor irregularities or differences in the individual helices will be negligible and well within the limits of permissible variation. -The coils, as illustra-ted in Fig, 1, are very narrowor of small diameter as compared with their length, and the wire of which they are made will normally be approximately .025 inch in diameter. The coils are thus highly elastic and are free throughout their length. With a coil diameter of a quarter inch and a length of twenty-five inches, it will be seen that the diameteris only one hundredth of the length of the coil.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, there are nine coils in a row on each of the sixteen supporting arms and tubes or a total of one hundred and fortyfour -coils in the example illustrated. With the suggested separation of a thousandth of an inch between turns and a thousand turns in their length, this would give each coil an aperture of three-quarters of a square inch or, for the 144 coils, an aperture of three-quarters of a square foot or more. This is a great capacity for a container of small c-ubical dimensions and it is evident that this capacity could easily be increased by using more coils.

It will be seen that a-s the diameter of the wire used for the coils is made smaller, there will be more turns in a given length of coil with the same spacing of the turns, and asthe diameter of the coil is made greater, there will be a greater length of wire for any given length of coil with the same spacing of the turns. In each of these cases, the coil becomes more flexible and the aperture becomes great-er with the greater length of wire. I

But in a given space, one can place more coi-ls of small diameter than coils of large diameter. Hence, the preferred arrangement will have a large number of coils of small diameter, and for proper elasticity of the coils, using the ordinary spring Wire, the ratio o'f the diameter of the wire to that of the coil should not be much less than 1 to 7 or much greater than 1 to 10.

As is indicated diagrammatical-ly in Fig. 3, the coils of the helix 28 are separated by a space of perhaps one-fifth the diameter of the wire. Particles of the llter aid suspended within the liquid to be filtered or Within liquid used for a prelim-v inary coating of the filtration unit-s will be caught within the tapering narrow space between the turns and will hold other smaller particles behind them, thus building up a layer of pervious material through which the liquid will pass but which will hold back anything in suspension that is larger than the interstices between the particles .oflter aid. Each addition of filter aid increases the area of the cylindrical surfaces until the row of coils has become a continuous wall. Liquid under pressure in the tank 4 passing through the filtration units into the interior of the coils will pass downward into the manifold tubes 20 and through the openings IIl) in the tube 9 and thence through the fitting 'I to the outlet pipe 6.

When the pressurebegins to rise, indicating that the spaces between the accumulated particles are closing, the addition of l-ter aid whose surface willl be more pervious to liquid than that of the compacted sludge will allow another layer of sludge to form without much further rise in pressure until the densityy of the new layer of sludge again becomes such as to cause a lresistance equal to that ofthe original layer. When the pressure becomes ktoo great for efliciency, the

pump will be stopped and the filtration assembly.v cleaned of the entire coa-ting by a simple rotationV or partial rotation within the liquid in the tank. This movement of rotation will cause the sludge and the charge of filter aid to break loose from the coils, since the inertia of the liquid will cause a sidewise pressure to which slight resistance has been built up. Each coil is pulled sidewise at its top and bot-tom simultaneously byy a thrust exerted upon an a-rm 24 and a'tu'be 20. There will be a considerable movement ofthe ends of the coil before vthe force exerted upon the arm and the tube and transmitted through the wire of the coil can overcome the resistance at the central portion of the coil offered by the inertia of the liquid. The long exible coils will be bent sidewise in a curve as the ends move forward and the central portion lags behind. The extent of movement of the central portion of the coil may amount to several times the diameter of the coil, and this movement will cause a certain stretching which will increase the amount of separation of the turns of lthe coil. The adhesion of the lter aid to the metallic coils is originally due only to the pressure exerted by the liquid flowing through the spiral aperture in each coil. The layer of filter aid wedged into the tapering spaces formed by the circularly curved surfaces of the wires at each side of the apertures will adhere in much the same manner as plaster adheres to the latch upon a wall, except for the absenceof the bond that forms on the inside in the case of plaster. After prolonged use, the sludge becomes closely com pacted upon 'the outer surface of the filter ald layer as a gummy coating and in the absence of considerable vibratio'n, the mass will continue to,ad here even when the pump is stopped, but if the assembly is jarred or has sidewise forces applied by rotation, the slight adhesion of the lter aid upon the coil will be overcome, the gummy surface of the sludge will break, and the mass will fall downward through the liquid to the bottom of the tank 4. The compacted material will not be broken into minute particles, but will drop down to the bottomin adherent masses and there will be very little tendency for any of the impurities to be taken up again by the liquid,

A handle 34 having a stem passing through the stuiiing box 35 on the top of the tank 4, will usually be turned counterclockwise to engage the cross bar 36 at the lower end of the stem with the heads of the screws` 26. As the assembly starts to rotate, the ratchet mem'ber I2 will engage the side of the T head I4 of the rod I3 with a beveled surface 31, and since the head I4 oilers a certain resistance, the member I2 will lift enough to ride over the head. A slot 38 in the member I2 is engaged by a cross pin 39 in the portion of the cap I'I whi-ch enters the tube I8, to cause rotation of the vmember I2 while permit'ting it to rise above the head I4.

Counterclocltwise rotation of the handle 34 and hence of the assembly `will discharge the sludgel from the coils without any movement of the rod I3 or of its scraper arms I6, but rotation of the handle 34 in the clockwise direction. with the cross bar 36 in engagement with the heads of- -face 40 of the ratchet member thrusting directly against the side of the head Il will act to cause rotation oi the rod la to move the arms It around the conical surface of the bottom of the tank L This scraping action will dislodge the sludge and give the liquid a rotary movement which will tend to carry the sludge to the central discharge pipe 4| at the lower endfof the conical surface. As is disclosed in the previous application, the pipe ll will, of course, have a valve.

With the lti-ation units cleared of sludge, a fresh charge of filter aid will be placed in the chamber 3, the cover I2 of the chamber screwed tight, and the pump started todrive liquid upward through the pipe 2 into the tank carrying with it the finely divided filter aid, 43, which will be deposited along the spiral apertures and outward on all sides as before.

If the operator wishes to observe how the process of filtration has proceeded, after the accumulation of sludge upon the surfaces of the filter aid coating-s has become suicient to cause an undesirable rise in the pressure necessary to continue iiltration, he .will stop the motor of the pump to relieve the liquid pressure in the tank. The cover may readily be removed from the tank, exposing the entire lter assembly to view and the operator may grasp the cap with his hand and lift the assembly upward along the tube 8,-

out of the pressure chamber, for inspection. lf the sludge coating is sufilciently gummy and leathery, it might be possible to remove the assembly intact from the tank, but since the coils are so flexible that an unexpected vibration could cause the relatively fragilecylindrical column oi' plastic filter aid to become free fromits spiral metallic core or support, it is better to avoid the chance of disaster by simply allowing the assembly to slide back down the tube s until near the bottom,vwhen it may be dropped a little distance to let' the plate 2i strike the upper face of the fitting 1. The jar caused bythe sudden stop will cause longitudinal vibrations of the 4coils from end to end, opening the spaces between the coils to release the filter aid from all parts of the coils and the whole mass of refuse will drop downward between the radial tubes 2li.

Since Fig. 3 is merely diagrammatic in illustrating a frag-ment of the coil of any uni-t, straight lines have been used in place of the theoretically correct sections of spirals.

The plate type of lter shown in elevation in Fig. 4 and in plan in Fig. 5 employs the same helical coils 28 as in Fig. 1, with their lower end held within openings in an outlet tube $5 and with their upper ends held by hooks engaging over a supporting barili carried by two end bars 61 and a central brace 68 secured to thetube 65.

changes and variations may be made by those who are skilled in the art without departure from the scope of what is claimed.

I claim:-

1. A iilter comprising a chamber for liquid under pressure, an elastic wire coiled in a spiral of great length as compared with its diameter and mounted within said chamber with the coils separated for the passage of liquid, the interior of the wire coil communicating with the exterior of the chamber for the discharge of liquid, a coating of finely divided material surrounding the said spiral coil and held thereon by pressure of the liquid, and means for causing transverse vibration of the said coll to dislodge the said coating.

2. A structure as in claim 1 having means for rotating the nlter element within the liquid.

3. A structure as in claim 1 having means for causing transverse vibration oi the coils between their ends.

4. A filter comprising a tank having a conical bottom provided with a discharge outlet at the apex of the cone, the bottom sloping downward toward the outlet, an outlet tube for liquid f mounted vertically within the tank, a filter element slidably and rotatably mounted upon the outlettube, a rod extending vertically through the outlet tube and having at its lower end an arm located adjacent to the conical bottom of the tank, and means engaging the rod when the filter element is rotated in one direction to cause rotation of the rod to move the arm along the bottom of the tank.

5. A structure as in claim 4 in which the means engaging the rod is inoperative to cause rotation of the rod when the filter element is rotated in the reverse direction.

6. A filter comprising a chamber for liquid under pressure, a filter element mounted within said chamber and consisting of a highly elastic wire coiled in a helix of great length as compared with its diameter whereby to permit transverse vibration throughout a considerable portion of its length, the interior of the helix communicating with the exterior of the chamber for the discharge of liquid passing from the chamber into the helix, the coils of the helix being separated to permit the passage of liquid but being sufciently close to retain and prevent the passage of solid particles to be removed from the liquid, and means to cause transverse ,vibration` of the helix to dislodge solids adhering to its outer surface.

7.. A filter comprising a chamber for liquid un'der pressure, an inlet for liquid into said cham- Such a filter element may be used as a replace-- ment unit-in the type of structure shown in patent to Heckman, 2,041,763, May 26, 1936.

As a means for protecting the fil-tration elementduring shipment, a sheet metal container 14 will usually be found desirable, the construction of which will be similar to that shown in the previous appli-cation above mentioned. The cylindrical body of this container will be slightly larger in diameter than that of the hoops 22 and 25, and there will be perforations 15 in the top 16 as shown in the upper quadrant in Fig. 2, and perforations 11 in the bottom 18 through which sludge will be pushed by the tubes 20 as they are turned around just above the perforations.

It will be understood that the structures shown ber, a vertical tube within the chamber having its interior communicating with the exterior ofVV the chamber, a lter element comprising a plurality of helical coils of yWire having open lower ends and closed upper ends, a manifold for liquid of the principles of the invbntion and that many having a plurality of openings to receive the lower ends of the helical coils oi? wire, a tube secured at its lower end to the manifold and mounted for rotation upon vthe vertical tube, the rotatable tube having at its upper end a cap, adjusting screws supported by the cap, a hub surrounding the rotatable tube and slidable thereon, and supports for the upper ends of the helical coils attached to said hub, the said adjusting screws carried by the cap engaging the hub to move it up and down on the tube it surrounds to adjust the tension of the helical coils of wire. l,

8. A filter comprising a chamber for containing liquid, an inlet for liquid intovsaid chamber,

a plurality of elastic wires each coiled 'into a spiral of great length as compared with its diameter and mounted within said chamber under tension with all of the coils substantially uniformly separated to permit the passage of liquid therethrough but to prevent the passage of solid material of a size Agreater than the separation between the turns of the coils, a passage to the exterior of the chamber in communication with the interior of all of the said coils for discharge of the liquid nltered in the chamber, and means for causing transverse vibration simultaneously to all of said spiral wires to dislodge the solid materials accumulated on said coils by the ltering action thereof.

9. A iilter comprising a chamber for containing liquid, an inlet for liquid into said chamber, a plurality of elastic Wires each coiled into a spiral of great length as compared with its diameter and mounted within said chamber under tension with all of the coils substantially uniformly separated between the turns to permit the passage of liquid therethrough but to prevent the passage of solid materials of a size greater than the separation between the turns of the coils, a passageto the exterior of the chamber in communication with the interior of all'of the coils for discharge of ltered liquid from the container, and means for simultaneously moving all of said spiral wires in said chamber to cause vibration thereof to dislodge the solid materials accumulated on said coils because of the filtering actionA thereof.

l0. A filter comprising a chamber for containing liquid, an inlet for liquid into said chamber, a vertical tube within said chamber having its interior communicating with the exterior of said chamber, a lter element carried by said tube and having a plurality of tubes extending radially outward from said vertical tube, a corresponding plurality of radially arranged supporting arms in substantial arm-to-tube alinement longitudinally of the vertical tube, each of the radial tubes having a plurality of openings, a plurality of elastichelical coils of wire having closed upper ends and open lower ends, the upper ends being supported bythe radial arms and the lower ends being held in communication with the openings in the radial tubes to permit lateral vibration and bending of the coils between their ends.

11. vA construction as in claim in which a frangible' coating of iilter aid is supported by the coils and in which the radial tubes at the lower ends of the coils are separated to permit the passage therebetween of matter dislodged from the coils.

12. Ina lter which comprises a chamber for liquid having mounted therein a helical coil of wire held under tension between supports at the ends of the coil, said coil communicating with the exterior of the chamberand serving as a support for filter aid held thereon by pressure of the liquid, means connecting the supports for the ends of the coil for simultaneous sidewise movement through the liquid and means for moving the supports sidewise, whereby when said supports are moved sidewise, the resistance ofl ported upon the outer surface of said coil and capable of disruption by vibration of the coil.

14. The process of separating solids from a liquid having solids in suspension which comprises applying pressure to the liquid to force it into contact with a helix of wire forming a lter element communicating with an outlet for filtered liquid, the coils of the helix being separated suiciently to permit the passage of liquid but being close enough together to retain iilter aid, adding filter aid-to the liquid to form a iirst cylindrical coating around the helix, continuing the pressure upon the liquid until-solids in suspension form a. second coating upon the element of greater resistance to pressure than the lter aid, adding a further quantity of iilter aid to form an additional coating of greater diameter and surface but of less resistance to pressure of liquid than the second coating and continuing the pressure upon the liquid until solids in suspension :form a fourth coating of greater resistance than the ,second coating.

STANLEY lMALANOWSKI. 

